Most Canadian tech companies think about intellectual property (IP) in the same way they think about insurance: something to deal with after something goes wrong. The companies that win in the long run think about IP the way they think about product development: strategically, early, and continuously.

What do Google's search algorithm, the formula behind your competitor's AI model, and your own proprietary training dataset have in common? None of them are patented. They are trade secrets, and in the high-tech industry, these are strategically valuable intellectual property (IP) assets.